It’s Okay

I know I’ve been absent several weeks and for that, I apologize. I do intend to post once a week but please be patient with me if that doesn’t always happen :0)

Today I want to address the fact that we are all a work in progress. Remember the song we used to sing in Sunday School…”He’s still working on me. To make me what I ought to be.” Ha ha now I’m singing the whole thing in my head. Anyways, that song was true then, and it is true now. I pity the man or woman who believes they have “arrived”, for that is impossible this side of Heaven. Thankfully, that day will come!

I’m learning a lot about vulnerability these days. It seems the Lord sees this as a weak area of mine and so he wants me to share on this blog parts of myself I am afraid to. But hey, even Paul says in Romans 7:15 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” That’s the Christian life in a nutshell. None of us are okay and that’s okay. None of us have this thing figured out completely and we need each other…and…you guessed it, that’s okay.

So, I hate being vulnerable. I hate crying in front of people. I hate when people see my weaknesses in areas I work so darn hard to be strong in. However, at the same time, I want people to see Christ in me. The only way for that to happen is for me to reveal my true self because Paul says in 2 Cor. 12:10 “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Okay, Paul, hold on a second there, buddy. It’s one thing to finally admit I’m not perfect. However, it’s another thing altogether to say I DELIGHT in weaknesses. Is this guy crazy??? Why would Paul say that? Paul, the one who used to kill Christians, the one who had all of his ducks in a row when it came to his Jewish heritage (Phil 3:4-6), the same guy who desperately tried to measure up and put his confidence in the flesh? Yep, that guy. There must be something to delighting in our weaknesses then. So what is it? Well, I’m reminded of a verse about us being jars of clay…”For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” 2 Cor 4:7. This was also written by Paul and here he reveals the secret to why he’s delighting in his weaknesses. Here, he shows us why this is the hidden pathway to strength. God’s light shining in our broken hearts aka our fragile clay jars is the way his power is best revealed. So, then, it goes to show that the more of our broken hearts we give to God, the more His light can shine through our cracked hearts. When we are weak, He is strong. When we are vulnerable, Christ can use us to shine His light most brightly.

The truth is, Christ wants all of our heart. Even the parts we think he can’t see. Even the parts we hope nobody ever finds out about. You know, like when your husband sees your bank account and realizes you spent way over budget for clothes (guilty!) because somehow it was more important to fill that void then make a responsible financial choice. That feeling of attaining one more thing in hopes of finally being happy. Clothes don’t make you happy. I know that from experience 🙂 Neither does having all that you could ever want in this world. The only place to find true happiness is in His presence. The only way to fully enjoy his presence, though, is to come as you are. Come as the broken clay jar desperate for his light to break through. Come to him vulnerable and you will find joy that cannot be found anywhere else. Will you join me?